Entwined
by NightKDuet
Summary: Tears were threatening to fall and it was blinding her vision. In his warm embrace, she could feel his honesty and sincerity with love that she has not noticed before. Was it duty or was it love on her part? NejiHina.
1. Chapter 1

**Entwined **

Sequel to Obscurity. Mostly NejiHina…some SasuHina (couldn't resist).

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It was peaceful, she surmised as she sipped tea quietly out in the garden under the night sky. She thought back to the last few days and it brought out a shy smile unknowingly. The relationship that she had with Neji improved significantly after that day at the hospital, knowing that he held a genuine respect for her and regarded her as somewhat important. That thought alone had broken a lot of barrier for her, as she no longer felt the need to flee when he was in the same room as her. However, she was clueless as to how to treat this relationship and what to do. It feels like she took one step forward and step steps back.

'_Still…_' Hinata thought as she warmed her uninjured right hand, holding the cup tightly in her grip. '_There must be something I can do._' She sighed into the night air and put the cup back to the small table beside her, all her tiredness seeping in. She went to check up on her students again during the day, overseeing their training. She could only give out instructions as her wounds that were healing prevented her from performing demonstrations.

She was told to rest for a week until she was healed of her wound. She protested, saying she could get back to training right away but was immediately cut off by Neji telling the doctor that he will make sure that she gets her rest.

She suddenly felt a presence behind her. "Hinata."

"Neji," Hinata greeted him as she looked back to her husband leaning on the doorway. Suddenly feeling her face heat up slightly, she looked down as soon as her eyes met his. "Tea?"

"What are you doing?" Neji asked, questioningly, staring at her. "It's late."

Hinata nodded, feebly. She was feeling shy and she still could not look at him straight in the eye. The day at the hospital did change her perspective but she was still awkward as ever.

There was a slight pause. "I meant you should go to sleep," he replied, as he shifted a bit, looking as his wife turned to look back at her cup. When she looked back up, he was standing right next to her. She was slightly startled and looked up wide-eyed at him.

"Umm…okay," she said, lamely. Not knowing what to do, she froze. He was standing close enough that she could reach out and touch him. There was nothing given away from his expression.

"You must be tired," Hinata stated, peering up at his face, noting that his frown was deeper than usual. He stayed silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He seemed to be deep in thought. She got up slowly and hesitantly slid her hand on his elbow just like the few times they had to appear in Hyuuga meetings, pulling him slightly toward their bedroom. He put up no resistance as she led him down the hallway toward their room.

As soon as they settled down in bed silently, Neji spoke up quietly. "I've stepped down from ANBU duties. I'll just be taking jounin-level missions."

Hinata whipped her head to the side to look at Neji. She stayed silent, knowing if he wanted to continue, then he would.

"…I think Hyuuga clan duties will keep me busy for awhile." He was still looking at the ceiling.

"I see," she looked up to the ceiling as well. She closed her eyes, tiredly.

"Hyuuga Elders called for a meeting tomorrow night," he continued, his voice tinted in seriousness. "They want to… put the seal…" The rest of the phrase he left off, but she knew what it implied. They wanted to put the seal on her.

This was not completely unexpected but to hear it so soon… She had already resigned to her fate but it disheartened her greatly. His life for hers. He did save her from that attack. Technically she owed him her life. It was a debt that she could never repay, thinking back on the scar that he received, still clearly visible on his back. She opened her eyes and glanced at his bare forehead and relaxed. She could feel his side-ways glance on her.

She met his eyes and gave a tiny smile to reassure him that she was already expecting this. She turned to his side and found his hand, squeezing it lightly. She doesn't really know where her courage came from, but it seemed somehow appropriate in this situation. "Okay."

She was going to take her hand back but he grabbed it firmly. His frown deepened, looking thoroughly displeased. She closed her eyes to avoid his intense gaze. "It's fine." She felt no loss. She would still be the member of the Hyuuga family and she would still be able to help.

There was a slight movement next to her and she felt him pulling her toward him, wrapping his arms carefully around her waist, taking care to not squeeze too tight because of her injury. This was actually the first time when he pulled her in consciously. She stayed frozen, her face buried near his chest, listening to his heart beating.

Neji knew that this was a new level of intimacy for them. Well, for her because she was now conscious of him pulling her closer while those other nights, it was only after she had gone to sleep that he pulled her closer. He buried his face near the top of her head like he did for so many nights, her smell calming him from rage that he was feeling inside.

When she recovered from her shock, she felt the unspoken words from his embrace. '_I'm sorry_.' It was his way of offering comfort. She accepted his gesture, settling her right hand on top of his arm that was wrapping around her.

He was warm and she felt protected. She could feel the slight change in atmosphere, as his restlessness and anxiety seem to lessen.

"Thank you," Hinata whispered quietly.

"Starting tomorrow," Neji started calmly, his breath ruffling her blue hair in the process. "Hokage-sama requested that I oversee your genins' training and train them while you recover."

Hinata thought it was odd. Usually they would ask some other jounin who already has a team to oversee the other if one could not. However, he did say that he was going to take jounin-level duties.

"Good night," Neji claimed, as he drifted off to sleep. She soon drifted off to sleep as well, enveloped in his arm, noting that she felt oddly comfortable sharing this embrace with him. As she slowly fell into darkness, she reminisced back to the days when they were younger, playing together and imagined that it was one of those days where sun was brightly shining and the world seemed much more kinder.

NxHxNxH

When Neji woke up, the first thing he noticed was the warmth next to him. Normally he would get up as soon as he opened his eyes, but he stays next to her, with his arms around her as he observes. Her blue bang framing her face, sun shining to make her skin glow, the bridge of her nose, and her small lips. He thinks back to the conversation that he had with her last night. He glances down next to him to see her face, serene and calm. He was amazed that she could keep calm even though it was demeaning for her as a Main House to be branded.

He looks at her hand still settled on his arm and remembers how gentle her touches are.

He thinks back to the day when he almost lost her during the mission that was supposed to be easy, willing to die to protect her genins. He did, in fact, admit that in some ways he does care for her, which was undeniable. He did run to the hospital in record time after being told that Hinata was injured.

He thinks how weird it is for him to worry about someone like that. He denied for a long time that it was because a small part of him did care. He can't really imagine going back to living alone without her calming presence especially when everything else was so hectic and chaotic, learning new duties and taking harder missions, which required a lot of energy. It makes him feel afraid to be having a weakness that someone can use it against him and threaten him.

He would not hesitate and jump again to save her without a thought because that it was what he was born to do and duty drives him. But he is not so sure if it's all about duty anymore and it's confusing him so much so that he doesn't know what to do and he hates not knowing what to do.

Hinata stirs next to him and she opens her opal eyes to look at him, slowly to reveal eyes full of care and kindness and suddenly, he feels like there is not enough oxygen in the air. He has a sudden need to retreat from confusing emotions rising up within him, so foreign and invasive. Before he can take any kind of action, she retreats first and gets up, her eyes still drooping, full of sleep.

He gets up right after. "Let's get ready." She nods in return.

NxHxNxH

"Hinata-sensei!" A bright, young voice called out and Hinata looked up to see one of her students waving at her. Mika with her orange colored hair up in a ponytail stood out against two other genins, one brown haired and the other black haired. Brown-haired guy waved at her, although not as enthusiastically, but the black haired one stood still with his arms crossed as he gazed at his teacher coming.

"Mika, Kazuki, and Minoru," she waved back. Neji just looked as he saw her interact with her students first, talking excitedly as they gathered around.

Kazuki, the black haired genin with bang covering one side of his face, was surprisingly the first one to speak up, setting his piercing gaze at the male figure beside her. "Who is this, sensei?"

"Kazuki-kun, this is Neji-sensei, who will be training with you in my place…until I fully recover," Hinata said as she laid one hand on the boy's shoulder. Neji looked as the boy stared at him and gave a short nod. He gave a short nod in return.

"Before I forget, I brought you kunai like I promised." Hinata said, as she took out a kunai, sharpened and new. She held out the weapon in front of him and Neji noted that his face expression brightened slightly as he accepted her gift.

Minoru, the brown-haired boy, suddenly piped up, "What about me?" He looked like he was disappointed. He reminded him of younger version of Naruto except he was less obnoxious and more serious. But his overall personality leaned toward outgoing.

"Well, Minoru-kun, if you promise to train hard today, I'll ask Tenten-sensei if she could spare me another but I got this for Kazuki-kun because I promised him long time ago and I like to keep my promise," she smiled at him. "And of course, that applies to you, Mika-chan. Neji-sensei will train you today. I'm just going to watch."

She nodded at him and he took that as a cue. "Let the training start."

NxHxNxH

By the time they were done, Neji hasn't even activated his Byakugan and her students were exhausted. She was amazed of how hard her students worked and how Neji was good at pointing out what they needed to work on.

"Whew," Mika breathed out as she settled down on the bottom of the tree. She settled down leaning her back against tree.

"Sorry guys, I could only pack rice balls today," Hinata said as she got out the food. "Didn't really have time." She jumped down, taking her basket with her.

"That's okay. Your food is delicious," Minoru exclaimed, as he settled down next to her and took out a rice ball, biting into it without a second thought. He had some burnt mark on his arm.

Mika was excited, "This is the best part of training. Oh! I brought cookies that I baked yesterday too. We can share that. Kazuki-kun, hurry up!" She had some scratches in her cheek and dirt on her clothes but she looked like she could care less.

Kazuki picked up his kunai and cleaned it up before settling down himself. Hinata handed him a rice ball before she gave one to Neji as well.

"Sensei, when is our next mission?" Mika asked, her brown eyes sparkling, excitement clearly evident in her voice.

"Hmm…I don't know. You might be assigned along with some other teams the next time you go on, because I can't accompany you yet," she answered back, looking down at her half-eaten rice balls.

"I am going to train harder, sensei, so that I can fight those ninjas should they appear again," Mika claimed as she plastered determined look on her face. Neji felt his heart sink, remembering Hinata's last mission and how she was almost killed. Tsunade-sama ordered further investigations about the incident but they had no luck so far.

"Well, you're going to have to train really hard then," Hinata said, smiling at her. Those ninjas that attacked them… they were after her or more likely, her eyes. They were nowhere the level that her students could handle. They were much stronger and faster; they were killers.

"They were not after us, they were after you, sensei," Kazuki stated, looking up at her. He stared at the bandage on her arm and hand, the wound that was inflicted because she was trying to protect him who was trying to protect her from an attack.

"Yes," Hinata said as she looked at him, her eyes looked thoughtful. Her lips quirked upward, her eyes following his eyes settled on her bandage, "Don't feel so guilty, it's good that you followed my instructions. Ninjas have to be prepared to face any kind of danger, you know."

Kazuki looked away but Neji could see that his expression softened a bit after what Hinata said. Minoru and Mika have gone quiet as well, "O-kay, I think it's enough for today. We can call it a day," Hinata continued as she tried to lift up the dark mood. "Next time I see you, I expect improvement. You know what you need to work on."

Hinata got up and pushed them toward their homes. "See you later."

Hinata waved as the three of them walked away, arguing about who was the strongest. "They would make fine ninjas," Hinata said to the companion next to her.

Neji stared at the three of them, Mika and Minoru were waving while Kazuki put his hand up and immediately shoved the hand into his pocket. Neji had learned a lot from the way that Hinata interacted with her students. She already had gained their respect and he was glad that he requested this from Hokage-sama.

"Yes, they would," Neji agreed. "They have much potential." Their students also had surprised him with their abilities. They had natural fluidity to their movements and generally worked okay as a team.

Hinata smiled broadly at Neji's words.

NxHxNxH

Hinata kneeled down, trying to ignore all the piercing gazes that she was receiving. Neji was kneeled next to her with her father on the other side of her. Hanabi was seating next to him. They were looking all grim.

"Rules are changing within Hyuuga clan and along with it, some adjustments to the ancient laws of the Hyuuga clan are necessary," one council member started. "Since Neji-sama was chosen to take over the clan and he was given privilege of having his seal removed, we need someone else to take that place, otherwise the possibility of rebellion will become greater. There are talks of how Neji-sama was able to escape his fate while others are resigned to theirs."

Neji clenched his hand, anger threatening to activate his Byakugan. He could not refute because it was true that he was freed from the seal and he knew that many Branch House members detested the seal. "Should Hinata-sama announce that she is willing to receive the seal then, symbolizing her submission to the head of the Hyuuga then it would not upset the balance. As this is an exception that Branch House member had taken over the Head, this needs to be an exception where Main House member needs to receive the seal."

"Furthermore, few days ago, Hinata-sama was attacked by ninjas of unknown origin, during which she risked her life and risked the secrecy of Hyuuga clan," one of the Elders spoke up. "We cannot allow someone else to take away the secrecy of the clan."

As in, we cannot have the weakest link be put in danger all the time because she needed to take missions often, Hinata thought bitterly. But Hinata could not show emotions now. She could deal with it later.

Everyone fell silent and looked at her expectantly. She looked around toward the Elders and Hanabi and her father, showing nothing of the emotions underneath but she knew that from the times that they discussed, they were clearly against this. That was enough for her: the thought that they did care. She was glad that Hanabi was spared from this fate.

It was her choice to make. She saw Neji's eyes narrowed, clearly stressed and angered. She took a deep breath, hoping that her voice would not waver. "As you have said, this is the first time that rules have been broken and as such, there are…adjustments that are necessary to keep the balance between Hyuuga Main House and Branch House."

She continued, her voice becoming firmer as she spoke. "Hyuuga clan have kept the delicate balance between the two houses for a long time. My loyalty is to the Hyuuga and my duty is to the clan. Therefore, I am willing to accept the seal if it means keeping the harmony between the two."

There was murmur of approval among the Elders. Her father, Hanabi, Neji, and few others that were against putting the seal on the Main House member stayed frozen.

"Neji-sama?" Elders spoke, waiting for her husband to talk. There was a heavy silence, breath being held in anticipation. The weight of the silence seemed almost too much to bear.

"No, that would not be necessary" His voice was firm and clear. There was a pause in the room. Hinata looked up at him, shocked at his words. There were murmurs of disapproval permeating, spreading like wildfire. "I believe the wife of the Head of the clan seen with a seal would be more detrimental to the reputation of Hyuuga if seen by other clans. They are most likely to view it as a sign that Hyuuga clan is weakening if Hyuuga Clan Head's wife has to bear the sign of submission. The threat then no longer is just within the clan but possibly might come from external source."

Hiashi spoke up, his voice rang in the quiet room, "Long ago, my brother sacrificed his life for mine. He died to save the Head of the Hyuuga clan. Without his sacrifice, I would not be here. I owe Neji a great debt and for that, I support his decision. I believe we all owe him a great favor."

Hiashi continued to look around. "There will always be others who are threatening to take the secrets of Hyuuga clan and that, we can do nothing. However, my daughter was willing to sacrifice and bear the seal and that alone clearly shows where her loyalty lies and she has become a capable ninja becoming a jounin after working hard for few years. I believe she would make fine co-leader alongside Neji. " The pride in his voice was clearly evident.

Hinata looked at him, his words slowly registering in her mind. She almost wondered if this was a dream until she was broken out of a reverie by Neji's voice. "I believe that settles it. Although Hyuuga clan have been keeping the same law for long time, there comes a time when it becomes necessary to amend the existing rules. Only then can the clan move forward to adapt to changing environment. I believe that this would be a positive step in creating a better future for the clan." There was silence but Hinata could not raise her head up to see the expressions on their faces, too shocked at the turn of the event.

"My wife would not be receiving the seal," Neji claimed with finality.

It was only later when Neji grabbed her hand that she knew it was time to get up. She got up, trying not to wobble but failing horribly. She grabbed onto Neji's arm for support as they walked back to their room silently. As soon as they arrived in their room, she collapsed on the floor and she could feel something wet rolling down her cheeks. She could vaguely feel him dropping down next to her and her arms shot out to wrap themselves around his neck.

As soon as she collapsed on the floor, Neji did not know what to do but when her hands shot out to wrap themselves around his neck, knocking him slightly back so that he was sitting on the floor, he knew that he did the right thing.

"Thank you," she whispered through her tears. "That meant a lot…to me."

Neji's lips formed a small smile, which Hinata could not see. "You would've done the same if you were in my place," he stated as he wrapped his arms tightly around the woman in front of him. She was happy and her emotion was influencing him. There was warmth spreading throughout his body. Contentment was the only thing that came close to describe his current feelings.

The more he held onto her, all the more his vow to protect her solidified and he was determined to not let go. He was just hit with a realization that she was breaking through the tough wall that he put up to keep all the emotions out and it was crumbling quite fast.

Odd thing was, he did not mind at all. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he saw this coming as he got to know her more, seeing her grow and interact with her students, how she dealt with stepping down as an heiress and choosing to accept him as a husband, being willing to sacrifice herself for the good of others, and trying hard to be a good wife.

If he was still trying to deny that he felt nothing for her, his irregular, quick heartbeats surely denied and spelled out that he was a fool. He was cornered and it was time for him to accept the fact.

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Reviews are very much appreciated. It's been a long time since I wrote my last one. Might be a bit rusty.

-NightKDuet


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**NxHxNxH**

Hinata had no idea how she got here in the first place, in this uncomfortable predicament, as she faced the dark-haired shinobi in front her, exuding displeasure. They never really talked much. The few times that they went on missions together, he was actually courteous…and daresay, nice…once in awhile.

She mentally sighed. She could hear Sakura in the background, shouting at Naruto for being an idiot to injure others and himself and so on. Sakura and Hinata happened to walk by Team 7's old training ground when they spotted orange and blue clashing. Hinata supposed it was inevitable that Naruto and Sasuke sparring together would end in bloodshed of some sort.

"Aren't you going to fix me?" His black eyes settled on her, displeasure fading to give way to indifference. At least he wasn't glaring at her.

"Well yes," Hinata answered back, eyeing the arm that was bleeding heavily. She concentrated her chakra and focused on closing the deep part of the wound as much as possible. Then she washed out all the blood and applied disinfectant and started wrapping his arm with a wrap, all the while feeling uncomfortable under his unrelenting gaze.

"Ow, ow!" Naruto yelled out, trying to take his arm back from Sakura, who was purposely pressing on his wound harder than necessary. "It hurts, it hurts!"

She forgot that she was treating Sasuke for a second and looked at them amusedly, a smile forming on her face. Not a few moments had passed, when her companion cleared his throat beside her, which broke her out of her reverie and she jumped slightly, remembering that she had a task at hand to finish.

"Sorry, Sasuke," Hinata muttered. After few minutes, she finished tying his bandage.

"Doesn't it feel stifling?" Sasuke asked, looking down at her with unreadable expression. It took her few seconds to actually register his question. "To be their puppet," he clarified, his gaze settling on her form. She finished putting things away in silence.

Hinata looked up at him, her eyes shone with resolve and determination, hint of sadness lying beneath. "It's a duty I must follow and it's considered an honor in the eyes of others." Hinata sighed, looking back down to the ground. "I didn't have a choice but I'm luckier than many other girls who are married off to some foreign country."

She felt something touch her forehead as Sasuke brushed away her bangs, which made her flinch slightly at the unexpected contact. "No seal," he deadpanned. Just as quickly as his hand came, it left. He never touched other people out of his own free will as far as she knew and his behavior was odd. But then again, Hinata considered him as one of the more unpredictable people, and probably he felt spontaneous at the moment.

"I can only take what I can get," Hinata whispered, putting her hand in her forehead, remembering how close she had been to being branded. "Neji prevented it from happening."

"A considerable risk," Sasuke claimed, coming to stand beside her, leaning against the tree and crossing his arms.

She gave a sideway glance, as tension rolled away from her shoulders. "Yes." She let out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding.

"I heard someone tried to attack you," Sasuke said, as if he was asking her about the weather. His tone was almost casual.

She looked at his ebony eyes in surprise. There was no way that he could have been informed unless… "Are you in the team that is investigating?"

Sasuke nodded. "We tried to track them down but…" He let the words hang in the air.

Hinata spotted a flash of green flying through the forest. A familiar voice boomed loudly. "My fellow Konoha comrades! I am also here to train. I will start with push-ups. If I can't do 400 push-ups, I'll hit the dummy 800 times! If I can't hit the dummy 800 times, I'll do 2000 jump ropes!" Rock Lee appeared filled with energy and enthusiasm that made other people flinch. "This is what the youth is all about!"

In the corner of her eyes, she saw Sasuke visibly cringe. Hinata laughed softly, knowing it was rare sight to see Sasuke lose his usual composure. She suddenly felt a dark aura emanating that was not really coming from the companion beside her.

"It's rude to glare," Sasuke said, sarcastically, as he looked back at the guy who appeared after Rock Lee.

Humorless voice shot back. "What do you mean?" Neji appeared in his jounin uniform, his eyes dark and irritation evident in his voice. Neji arrived just in time to see Sasuke visibly cringe and Hinata laughing beside him. He himself cringed at Lee's antics. But something akin to anger arose when he saw Hinata laughing at Sasuke's expense.

Sasuke smirked, shrugging. "I was just having a nice _long_ conversation," Sasuke said, rubbing it in, knowing that it would annoy the other male. Neji's glare became more deadly.

"I'm guessing it's time to go?" Hinata asked as she smiled at Neji, breaking the staring contest between the two.

Neji nodded and smirked at Sasuke, unspoken threat emitting from his eyes, "Let's _spar_ next time."

"Anytime," the other immediately replied, voice just as flat. He disappeared, putting his head up in a brief gesture of goodbye.

Hinata looked back at Neji, who was looking back at her with nothing of the emotion he displayed just seconds of ago. She looked down, uneasiness settling in, feeling slight tension in the air.

"What were you doing?" Neji asked, his voice neutral.

"He was injured so I helped," Hinata said, looking down medical supplies in her grasp. "Naruto and Sasuke were sparring and both got injured."

"I see," Neji said. _'Nice, long chat, eh?'_ Neji smirked, remembering what Sasuke had said. Then he felt foolish for feeling better. He needed to get his emotions in check because it was haywire as of late.

He felt something sliding in his arm as Hinata stepped to stand by his side. "Let's go?" Neji looked down at her hand curled up on his forearm. "Neji?"

Instead of answering, he grabbed her hand that was settled on his arm and slid it down so that they were hand-in-hand. She looked flustered by his action, especially when he didn't let go. "Let's head home."

Hinata looked positively embarrassed, but didn't try to break out of his grip and let him guide her while she tried desperately to hide her blush away from people's stares.

**NxHxNxH**

**-NightKDuet**


	3. Chapter 3

**NxHxNxH**

'_The nerve of him…_' Neji's temple throbbed as he thought back to the battle between him and Sasuke. They did end up having a spar…a very deadly one where he was currently sporting big gash on his back with cuts and bruises everywhere.

Sasuke stated, tauntingly. '_Originally, she was supposed to marry one of the Uchihas._' They exchanged blows after blows. '_She would have become an __**Uchiha**__ had you not interfered._'

His Byakugan flickered to his opponent, annoyance in full force. '_She's a Hyuuga and will always be a Hyuuga._'

Truthfully, they would have kept going had Naruto and Lee not interfered and forcefully took them apart. He smirked. At least he made him go to the hospital to have his wounds addressed and Neji knew that hospital was one of the places that Sasuke hated to go.

Hinata gasped, looking at the battered body, wondering if he was attacked somewhere. "Neji, d-did someone?"

"I was careless," Neji replied, giving her a small reassuring smile.

Hinata hurried to pull out a sheet and laid it on the ground. "Lay down, please." Neji groaned in pain. She carefully peeled off his training shirt to see a big gash on his back. Her hand immediately started to glow green to close his wounds.

Neji stared at her in the corner of his eyes and she focused intently, the veins around her eyes clearly visible. Her blue hair was framing her face and her lips were pursed in concentration. He could slowly feel blood rising to his face. He felt the pain subsiding bit by bit as she continued to heal him.

The veins retracted and she took out her salve, applying it to his arms and back. Her fingers felt cool and calming. He would have fallen asleep if she hadn't shaken him slightly saying that he should wash up.

She handed him the rest of the salve, dumping it in his hand as he looked at her questioningly. With the heat full on her face, she pointed to his chest and stomach and he understood.

Something tickled in his chest, a strange sensation that he never really had before. His lips rose up on their own, forming a smile. He gave it back to her, folding it in her hand, shrugging. She looked up at him in confusion.

He put his head down on her shoulder and she jumped. Then his shoulder started quivering and she freaked out, wondering what had gone wrong. Until she heard a deep rumble, something between laughter and chuckle.

Then he got up and walked to the bathroom, leaving a very confused, disoriented Hinata.

When he had finished showering and stopped smiling like an idiot in the bathroom, he came back out to see that Hinata was gone and he sat in the middle of the room, waiting for her to come back. She came back seconds later with bandages in her hand, looking nervous.

"Neji, I'm going to help you with bandaging," Hinata said, as she sat down behind him. With great care and precision, she started bandaging. He caught her scent each time she leaned a little closer and could feel warmth radiating. She came around and adjusted the bandage in front and tied it on his shoulder.

She jumped as soon as something warm touched her cheek and saw that Neji's hand had come up to caress her cheek. Her eyes widened considerably.

Her heart dropped at the tender look on his face, something that she has never seen before. This was bound to be very dangerous and if she didn't move… She was going to do just that, except his other hand came up and trapped her other cheek. She could feel her face practically glowing and she was sure that her cheeks were flushed.

Neji could only hold his breath as she looked up at him shyly, her cheeks red, which shook him to his core. He could hear his heart beat loudly in his ears and he knew that he was somewhat flushing, but he didn't want to let go, feeling the soft skin of her face and her scent was just too overwhelmingly pleasant to let go.

"U-Umm…" Hinata attempted to speak as her face was brought closer and she had to place her hands on his shoulders to prevent herself from falling over on him completely. "N-Neji?"

It was madness what he was about to do but he could not stop. It didn't make any logical sense but he had stopped caring about logic as soon as her face was inches from his and her hands were slightly shaking as they grabbed onto his shoulders.

'_To hell with logic…_' was the last thing on his mind before her soft lips touched his, immediately stopping any kind of thoughts on his mind.

It was soft, warm, nice, and simple. It was just like her, sweet and alluring.

She, on the other hand, was just basking in the warmth of his hands and his lips. He was very gentle. When she saw uncertainty flash in his eyes before their lips met, it made her heart beat faster to know that he cared about what she felt and thought.

When they broke apart, Neji wondered if he really should have done that. At the spur of the moment, he had let himself be carried away without considering his wife's feelings. But when she looked up at him, her eyes shining and no sign of contempt at his action, he relaxed a little.

Under his heated gaze, her heart beating against her rib cage was starting to become painful, putting her in overdrive. Hinata swallowed, trying to stop her stomach from fluttering and she felt dizzy.

Her heart literally dropped when he slowly brought his face closer, his forehead touching hers, in gesture of intimacy that made her blush a whole new level. She could smell his minty breath as his half-closed, glazed eyes looked deeply at her. She could feel herself shaking slightly but she could not look away. She felt like she was in a trance, feeling light-headed.

"You can tell me to stop," Neji whispered, his breath fanning across her face. Her heart hammered harder against her ribcage at his vulnerable face expression and she briefly wondered if he felt like she was feeling right now.

There was a fierce battle raging in Neji as he was torn in releasing her from his grip and pulling her against him to taste her lips again. Only his strict self-discipline and the fact that he had no desire to force her to do anything that she didn't want to do stopped him. The only thing that mattered to him was that she did not push him away. The softness of her lips and the warmth spread like wildfire.

Her eyes widened as his head tilted and slowly narrowed the gap between them. It seems to be in a slow motion as she slowly closed her eyes and their lips met for the second time. This time his left hand dropped to her waist and wrapped itself around her to pull her closer while his other hand inched its way to the back of her head, making her breath hitch.

He felt himself drown in the depth of the sweetness of her taste. He had to remind himself to slow down as he did not want to scare her. Her doubt evaporated and she just focused on the feel of his lips on hers. Time seemed to come to a halt.

She placed her hands on his chest so that she could pull back to catch her breath. He reluctantly let her retreat, trying to gauge what her reaction was, staring at her opal eyes. He waited in anticipation and nervousness as she gazed back at him, red-faced and anxious.

She was highly embarrassed, confused, and too many other emotions that were indiscernible were overwhelming her at once. But she trusted him and that was clear in her mind. She could see that there was tint of worry in his eyes but there was intenseness and heat that made her heart flutter. She felt honesty and sincerity in his expression and his actions.

Neji's thought briefly went back to what Sasuke said. '_He __could__ have taken her away, but now he can't… not now, not ever._' He tightened his hold on her reflexively at the thought. He felt her jump.

"N-Neji, I-I-" Hinata stuttered out, doubt and nervousness clearly evident. She was going to retreat, use anything to excuse herself. Her muddled thoughts weren't helping and she wanted to sort it out.

"Hinata, do you trust me?" Neji asked, as he rested his hands on her waist. He had wanted to know and that was important to him.

Hinata bit her lips, looking back at him hesitantly, in which she tried to come up with something to say. Neji sighed, thinking maybe she couldn't yet. He turned his head to the side and loosened his hold so that she could slip out.

She felt her heart clench and she hated that she lacked courage. Her hand shot out on its own and settled on his cheek, bringing his eyes back to her. It was her chance to take and she wanted to make this work. "I…t-trust you," she said, sincerely.

She saw doubt flash in his eyes. Before her courage could completely fail her, she let her hand pull his head down in one fluid motion. Before any thoughts or doubts could enter her mind, she gently placed her lips on his, intending to give him a chaste kiss, but his hand had moved to the back of her head to hold her in place. Having her in his arms with her willingly kissing him drove him wild along with her flushed face and her rosy lips that she had on when they were catching their breaths.

Now it was his mind telling him that it was dangerous if they stayed in that position. His mind was hazy with desires to feel her softness again but he just ended up putting his head on her shoulder and whispered, "Thank you."

She was starting to affect him very much and he found his thoughts would go back to her many times during the day, distracting him from the tasks that he had to complete. As he saw her retreating form, he sighed, wondering if she would ever look at him the same way he was looking at her.

**NxHxNxH**

**-NightKDuet**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Hinata was reading one of the books on the couch, enjoying the late afternoon sun. She had a relatively free day so she decided that she would spend it on her favorite past time. There was a knock and she got up immediately, opening the door, surprised to see someone unexpected.

"Oh hello, Kazuki-kun," Hinata said as she smiled at the boy and then froze in mid-smile as she saw a large gash on his arm and bruises and cuts. 

"Come in, I'll fix you up," Hinata said, as she led him to the living room and made him sit down. "Training?" She asked as she examined his wounds and finding that it was not too deep.

"Yes," Kazuki said, as he looked at her hesitantly. "I was training with Mika and Minoru."

There was silence as she wrapped bandage around him, "I see." She saw that he was deep in thought and just let him alone to think it through.

"I want to master some genjutsu technique and I wanted to ask you if you can train me." She didn't say anything until she had finished.

"Sure," Hinata said. "But we're going to have to have you train first on chakra control. I can't have you almost lose control again, especially if it involves the safety of your teammates."

"Yes," he said, as he remembered the last mission when he almost lost control after he saw Hinata receive a deadly blow to the stomach. He felt a dark release of power and an overwhelming urge to kill. He felt someone else wrestle within him in attempt to take control of his body. He himself started shrinking further and further into darkness and started to feel like he was being trapped. His genjutsu was too powerful for him to fully control and was threatening to take over his own body. Hinata was aware the kind of potential he had and how powerful he could be and had to stop him first, which almost made her fall into his genjutsu. She thanked Kurenai-sensei for training her team on how to avoid falling into such powerful illusional trap, her area of expertise.

"Sorry, I just got…too angry," he stated, tonelessly, but there was a hint of apology in his voice.

Hinata sighed, "I know." An odd boy from a relatively well-known clan but she knew that his parents had died long ago and he was neglected by his uncle and aunt, who mostly left him alone as long as he did what he was told and never really gave him enough attention. She was glad that he could trust her well enough to come talk to her because most of the time, he chose to stay silent. She felt a lot of compassion for the boy.

He flipped out a kunai that she gave him out of his sleeve and put it in front of her in a fist, smirking. "I will keep my promise next time."

She gave him a small smile, "Okay." She had made him promise that he would need to resort to giving himself pain to wake himself up should he be in danger of falling completely into his own genjutsu and have his alternate self come out instead.

"Kazuki-kun!" a voice yelled out. "Where are you?"

Hinata looked at Kazuki and he looked back at her with annoyance displayed on his face. Hinata's face expression changed to amusement.

She looked at him quizzically. He shrugged, "It didn't look like they were going to stop arguing any time soon so I just…left." He looked at her, seeming to contemplate something, but she could see something familiar reflected off his eyes.

Her silvery eyes stared back at him. "Don't blame yourself," she said as she put her hands on his shoulders and stooped slightly to be eye level. "We risk our lives everyday… that's just how it is. I would do the same thing over again if I was in the same situation."

Kazuki remained motionless until he slowly nodded. He put his hand on top of her forearm that was extending to his shoulder and squeezed slightly before turning around and facing out toward the door. "Bye, sensei." There was a gentle click of the door being open and closed as he left.

She stood there so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't register that there was another click of the doorway. "Odd," Hinata mumbled by herself.

"What is?" Hinata looked up to see Neji coming in through the door. As soon as she met his eyes, she immediately looked down and could not look at him in the face, remembering the incident a week ago. He left for a mission a day after and so she had the time to think through by herself for the week. She felt her face flush slightly and heart beat faster.

"Umm…nothing much," Hinata replied, nervously, looking down. "You're early." She noted that he wasn't supposed to come back until late evening.

"Hokage-sama gave me the rest of the day off," Neji replied, noting her discomfort. He paused, awkwardly, "I…wanted to come home and…eat dinner." He silently added the word '_together_' in his mind.

"Oh." Hinata shuffled into the kitchen to open up the refrigerator. "Why don't you wash up? I'll get started on dinner right away."

"It's a little early," Neji replied while he stopped next to the refrigerator, looking down at her small form.

She quickly glanced up at him. "Oh." She blushed and quickly closed the refrigerator, looking down at him. The silence lingered for a minute. "Do you…do you want to join me in the living room?" She clasped her hands in front of her. "I-I was reading a book earlier."

"Hmm," Neji said, absentmindedly, as he looked at her hands. He felt the odd need to reach out and he did so, taking her warm hand in his, which made her look up. It was the first contact that they had since a week ago.

"Okay," his lips formed the word. He turned around and pulled her to the living room with her in tow. He made her sit on the couch and then he went inside the bathroom to wash up.

Time passed and the sun was setting. While Hinata was in the kitchen with her back facing him, humming quietly, as she washed the dishes, he took the time to blatantly watch his wife, leaving the opened scroll unread. Although he would never admit it, he missed her and she was all he thought about at night during the mission. He kept thinking back to the time when they shared intimate kisses, which made him want to feel her close against him.

He was acting like a lovesick fool and he hated it, especially when he felt like he was the only one. Frustrated, he laid himself on the couch, putting his arms, crossing them on top of his head. What would it take for her to look at him and him only? His thoughts were unsettling him.

Hinata finished washing the dishes and glanced back to see Neji on the couch. She went into the bedroom, grabbed a blanket, and tiptoed to where Neji was lying down. She spread the blanket on top of him but was surprised when his hand shot up and grabbed her wrist.

"O-Oh," Hinata looked back at his almost translucent eyes. "I d-didn't know you were awake."

When she tried to pull her hand back, he just held on with a firm grip. She kneeled next to the couch instead. "Do you feel unwell?" Hinata put her cool hand on his forehead, trying to see if he had a fever. Neji just looked at her, unwaveringly. "I think," she hesitated, feeling worried for him because of his abnormal behavior. "You should go to sleep."

He sat up on the couch to face her. "I…missed you."

Her opal eyes looked at him in shock until a blush settled in and she looked down in embarrassment. "Oh." She gave him a small shy smile. "That's…sweet of you." There was a slight squeeze of his hand. "I missed you too."

"Really?" Neji wanted to make sure that he wasn't hearing things just because he was hoping to hear it. She gave a tiny nod. He was thrilled to say the least.

"Hanabi doesn't show it but I think she also missed you. She had no one else to tease," Hinata continued, which dragged his mood down way worse than he was feeling before. He fell silent and Hinata noticed the change as he sat there silently brooding. "Are you sure you are alright? Did something happen during your mission?"

"No, nothing happened," Neji replied, looking down at her face. Then his eyes gazed at her pearly eyes, glowing cheeks, small nose, and lastly her enticing lips. She was right here in front of him, looking up at him worriedly. There was a pause. "I just…" He sighed, looking for a right word to say. "… missed you, that's all."

She tilted her head slightly, giving him a questioning glance. Then she stood on her knees and tugged him toward her to which he willingly obliged. Her arms went around his shoulder and he sighed, burying his face in her neck, his arms wrapping around her waist to bring her closer. She patted his back soothingly. "I feel like something is bothering you, isn't there? I may not be able to help, but I can listen, if you want." Her voice reverberated through her lithe form, the warmth seeping into his body.

"I'm tired…" Neji said, suddenly. He body sagged, leaning into her, which put more weight on her.

"Let's get you to bed," Hinata said, as she tried to get up to drag him to the room.

He didn't budge and pulled Hinata back down against him wrapping his arm around her to prevent her from moving. "I'm tired of fighting it." He slowly put his forehead on hers.

Hinata took a sharp intake of breath, surprise evident in her voice. "F-Fighting what, Neji? I don't unders – "

Her sentence was cut off by his lips on hers. He sighed into her mouth, showing her just how much he missed her, pouring all his feelings into his kiss. His tongue delved into her sweet mouth and her shy response only added fuel to the fire burning within. He heard her breath hitch and he reluctantly retreated and took in the site of her ravished lips and disheveled hair. Her eyes looked to be in a trance and there was a passion flickering in her eyes.

"I'm tired of fighting," Neji replied, taking her hand and putting it on top of his heart, which was beating rapidly and her face grew scarlet but she didn't avoid his gaze. "I thought about how I wanted to come home because there was someone that I looked forward to seeing." Neji leaned in closer, their lips inches away. His voice came out lower. "Do you have any idea how much I'm affected…by you?" Neji's hand gently touched her lips, gently rubbing them with his thumb before moving his hand to her cheek, gazing at her lovingly. Her eyes started watering and she looked down, trying to keep her tears from falling. "You don't seem to believe me," Neji sighed, disappointed.

"N-No," Hinata stated, as her other unoccupied hand curled in his shoulder. "I believe you."

"Then what is it?" His eyes were full of concern and she could still feel his rapid heart beats underneath her hand. This was her husband, declaring his possible attraction for her. This was perhaps the first time that she heard anything like that. That someone was actually attracted to her. There were just too many thoughts and emotions swirling in her that she didn't know what to say.

"I-I'm…just s-shocked…I mean, uh, I-I didn't expect - " She closed her mouth before she can babble on. Sitting sideways on his laps, with his hands on her cheeks, his eyes holding a gaze concentrated solely on her, she thought it too surreal.

"You know, the reason why I'm probably affected so much by you can only be explained by love." Her heart thumped loudly at his declaration.

"Love?" She asked, incredulously. "Y-You – M-M-Me?" she sputtered, as her blush got darker and she leaned back in surprise. She would have fallen if it weren't for his arms that wrapped quickly around her waist.

"I'm pretty sure nothing else can explain it." Was that a slight flush on his cheeks? Hinata wondered, as she looked at him with her mouth open. "Fate has entwined us to one another and it was only a matter of time for me." Neji tightened his arms around her form as his head settled on her shoulder and kept her head in place by his hand in the back of her head. "I will try my best to be a good husband to you."

Tears were threatening to fall and it was blinding her vision. In his warm embrace, she could feel his honesty and sincerity with love that she has not noticed before. Was it duty or was it love on her part?

The word _duty_ rang in her mind as she thought about Neji, always driven by duty to his clan, duty to protect her. But then he has been a faithful husband and now it was more than a duty to him to want to stay by her side whereas for her, she pushed the duty of being a wife to the back of her mind and she hasn't given much thought about having Neji as someone more important than a friend and companion. She felt…terrible.

She owed him at least this much. "I will…try to be a good wife to you as well," she whispered as she pulled back slightly. Without much thought, she leaned forward and gave a kiss and backed away to jump out of his grasp before he could react. He looked a bit stunned before his lips quirked slightly.

Neji sighed and got up to get ready for bed where he could finally sleep with her in his arms. The warmth of her lips was still vivid in his mind as he got in and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her hair.

NxHxNxH

-NightKDuet


End file.
